1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a stackable drinking vessel and more particularly to a stackable drinking vessel that can stack and be carried in a stack by hand whilst the drinking vessel contains beverage. The invention further relates to a stack of drinking vessels, and to a method of serving beverage in a stackable drinking vessel or a stack of such drinking vessels.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is typical audience behaviour at large events such as sports matches, music concerts and festivals, to buy and consume beverages. It is common that the beverages are served into drinking vessels such as glasses of various sorts, tumblers and the like, at a bar and that a consumer then carries these vessels by hand to his or her seat or standing location. Because of crowded conditions at such events it is typical for a consumer to purchase more than one beverage per bar visit, and also for one consumer to purchase beverages for a group of persons. Depending upon the size and shape of the vessel a single person can normally carry two purchased beverages by hand with ease, may be able to carry three beverages by hand, and in some cases may even be able to carry as many as four beverages without additional assistance, although spillage is naturally more likely.
Stacking of filled drinking vessels one upon the other in a single column has been suggested in the prior art. For example, WO2007056815 discusses a filled, disposable drinking vessel, which can be stacked onto a similar drinking vessel for storage and transportation. The stacking of the drinking vessel is achieved in a manner by which the base of one vessel sits over or within the rim of a single other similar drinking vessel to form a mono-column. Although the stacking mechanism is primarily discussed in terms of storage of the drinking vessels, it is shown that a mono-column of at most two drinking vessels can be carried in one hand when stabilized by a user's thumb. Although this reduces the skill level needed to carry four such drinking vessels, it remains problematic, and the carrying of more than four such vessels by hand appears not to be possible.
To overcome these problems bars may provide disposable or reusable trays with which full drinking vessels can be more securely carried. However, reusable trays are expensive and must be retrieved, and disposable trays are expensive and wasteful.
There remains a need for a more convenient manner of carrying multiple beverage vessels by hand.